Lime off Auckland streets

Lime e-scooters have been pulled from Auckland streets for now due to a software glitch that causes the wheels to lock up.

Auckland Council chief operating officer Dean Kimpton confirmed yesterday that Auckland Council and Auckland Transport had decided to ‘‘temporarily suspend’’ the e-scooter trial due to safety concerns. The suspension would be reviewed on Monday.

Kimpton said there had been 155 ‘‘irregular braking incidents’’ reported across the country, 92 in Auckland.

Thirty people, 19 in Auckland, had been injured as a result.

Lime was expected to remove its scooters from the streets as soon as practicable, he said.

It would be required to meet certain conditions for its trial to be resumed, including delivering a report every 48 hours.

It had also been asked to meet weekly with staff to discuss any incidents.

The council would also appoint an independent reviewer, who would have access to Lime’s operations and data.

Lime had been ‘‘actively working’’ over the past week to carry out maintenance on affected e-scooters, Kimpton said.

It was also working on rolling out a global ‘‘patch’’ to fix the software glitch, but the timing of that was unknown.

‘‘We have been clear with Lime representatives that the equipment used on our transport network must be safe for use,’’ Kimpton said.

‘‘The safety of people using e-scooters and those that share the environment with them is our number one priority.

‘‘While we appreciate the amenity that e-scooters offer as an innovative transport solution, safety is not negotiable.’’

Kimpton said he could not say whether other councils were looking at following in Auckland’s footsteps and reviewing Lime’s licences in their regions.